Schwake made it four goalkeepers in four wins, and Freese has 45 minutes

Brian Schwake reached up in the 64th minute and pushed Luc de Fougerolles' volley onto the crossbar, by Jeff Carlisle's account for ESPN. It was the best of his three saves, and the United States held on to beat Canada 1-0 on Tuesday night at Allianz Field in St. Paul.

Schwake, of Nashville SC, was making his first start and earning his second cap. He was the fourth goalkeeper to start in four matches. Matt Freese, who was in goal when the World Cup ended, was not dressed.

The goal and the night#

Justin Ellis scored in the 29th minute. Malik Tillman played a give-and-go with Alex Freeman down the right, and Freeman pushed the ball toward the far post from about eight yards for Ellis to finish first time, per the federation's match report. Carlisle wrote that Ellis had been limping since a hit from Stephen Eustaquio in the 21st minute. A U.S. Soccer spokesperson later told ESPN that Ellis has a right lower-leg contusion and is being evaluated. He went off at halftime.

The rest was scrappy. The federation's report has 22 fouls by the United States and 21 by Canada, four cautions, and five U.S. shots to Canada's seven. The Americans had one shot on target, and it was the goal. Canada had eight corners to four. Carlisle wrote that possession tilted Canada's way after halftime, and that it was the first time in the window the U.S. had to see out a one-goal lead. One friendly says it can be done once, and no more than that.

Pochettino made six changes from the eleven that beat Mexico. Freeman, Chris Richards, Auston Trusty, Gio Reyna and Tillman stayed. Mathis Albert, 17, made his first start, and Yunus Musah won his 50th cap. Cole Campbell came on in the 61st minute for his debut, which means all 13 players who were uncapped when camp opened have now played, and all 28 on the roster appeared at least once.

Four goalkeepers, 360 minutes#

The four elevens, read off the federation's match reports, divide the window's goalkeeping like this:

• Diego Kochen, 135 minutes: the second half against Peru, all of Mexico.
• Brian Schwake, 135: the second half against Chile, all of Canada.
• Matt Freese, 45: the first half against Peru.
• Chris Brady, 45: the first half against Chile.

Kochen and Schwake each kept a clean sheet in their only start. Freese started the window as its most-capped goalkeeper, with 19 caps when camp opened, and as the man who was in goal for the 4-1 loss to Belgium on July 6 that ended the World Cup. He was an unused substitute in Glendale and was not dressed in St. Paul. The federation's lineup notes list him with Frankie Westfield as the two players not dressing and give no reason for either.

Two halves and two full matches in friendlies are not enough to rank four goalkeepers. The order is what moved. Going into the window, the question was whether anyone would push Freese. Coming out of it, the two goalkeepers who played full matches both kept clean sheets, and Freese was not one of them.

The men who took the minutes#

Outside goal, the window handed out minutes in a pattern that will matter more in November than the scores did. Of 360 regulation minutes, Freeman played 285, Trusty 281, Tillman 266 and Reyna 259. Freeman appeared in all four matches and started three. Reyna is the only player who started all four.

Richards played 207, none of them against Peru, where the federation held him out for what it called load management. He and Trusty started together in both clean sheets, and the federation's notes call Tuesday their third partnership in central defense. Carlisle saw it differently. He wrote that Trusty was used as a stand-in left back, with George Campbell beside Richards. The two accounts do not agree, and the difference matters for November, because Antonee Robinson, who replaced Trusty in the 74th minute, has started 2 of the 4 matches.

Haiti, and who comes back#

The federation's recap names the next opponent. The United States play Haiti in a two-leg Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal, the first leg on November 14 at a site still to be announced and the second on November 17 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. The window opens November 9.

That is the first competitive match of this cycle, and the first since the World Cup with a result that carries anything forward. Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun all started against Belgium and were not in this camp. Ricardo Pepi was withdrawn on September 20 with an injury. Ellis, with two goals in 132 minutes, now has a leg to be cleared before the squad is named.

My call is that Freese starts the first leg in goal. A two-leg knockout is where a manager reaches for the goalkeeper with 20 caps rather than the ones with two each, and nothing in this window was competitive.

The case against is this window's own record. Pochettino started three other goalkeepers, gave Freese one half and did not dress him for the last match. Kochen and Schwake both kept clean sheets in full matches. Four starts went to four different goalkeepers, so the base rate for any one of them, Freese included, was one start in four.

Sources: U.S. Soccer, "U.S. Men's National Team Shuts Out Canada 1-0 to Kick Off New Era Under Pochettino With Four Consecutive Wins," match recap and match report, October 7, 2026; U.S. Soccer, "Starting XI & Lineup Notes: USMNT vs. Canada," October 6, 2026; U.S. Soccer, starting elevens, lineup notes and match reports, USMNT vs. Peru (September 26), Chile (September 29) and Mexico (October 3), 2026; ESPN, Jeff Carlisle, "Youthful USMNT rises to the challenge presented by feisty, physical Canada" and "Pochettino urges USMNT players to bring intensity back to clubs," October 6, 2026.